Israel launched more strikes on southern Lebanon on Tuesday despite a ceasefire deal that was supposed to take effect last Wednesday as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the war with Hezbollah is not over.
Israeli strikes included an attack on the town of Shebaa, which killed a shepherd. According to The Associated Press, the death brought the total number of people killed by Israel in Lebanon since last Wednesday to 15.
The heaviest day of Israeli bombing took place on Monday after Hezbollah fired back for the first time, launching two rockets toward Israeli-occupied territory in a “warning” shot in response to Israeli violations. A UNIFIL source told CNN on Monday that Israel violated the ceasefire around 100 times at that point, and the US and France have also reportedly conveyed that they believe Israel was violating the truce.
Israel has claimed it’s responding to Hezbollah violating the ceasefire, pointing to the group’s presence in activity in southern Lebanon. But the ceasefire deal gave Hezbollah 60 days to withdraw its fighters and heavy weapons north of the Litani River. During that time, Israel is supposed to withdraw its forces from Lebanon, and the Lebanese Army is deploying troops to enforce the truce.
“We are currently in a ceasefire, I note, a ceasefire, not the end of the war,” Netanyahu said on Tuesday. “We have a clear goal to return the residents, to rehabilitate the north. We are enforcing this ceasefire with an iron fist, acting against any violation, minor or serious.”
The US State Department justified Israel’s ceasefire violations by saying Israel has the right to “defend itself.” State Department spokesman Vedant Patel was asked on Tuesday if the same right applies to Lebanon and refused to answer. The US gave assurances to Israel that it could strike Lebanon if it deemed the ceasefire deal was being violated.
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz threatened on Tuesday that if the war escalates, Israel will push deeper into Lebanese territory and target the Lebanese government. “If we return to war, we will act with strength, go deeper,” he said. “there will no longer be any exemptions for the State of Lebanon. If until now we separated the State of Lebanon from Hezbollah – and the entirety of Beirut from Dahiyeh, which took very hard hits – this will no longer be the case.”
